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By
Brittney Melton
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The Supreme Court upheld access to the abortion pill mifepristone yesterday. The high court's order means that the medication will remain available via telehealth while Louisiana's case against the Food and Drug Administration moves through the lower courts. The Supreme Court stayed a May 1 ruling from the New Orleans-based U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals would have banned access to mifepristone by mail. The court ruling would have impacted the whole country.
Abortion-rights activists protested outside of the Supreme Court in March 2024, when the overall FDA authorization of the abortion pill mifepristone was challenged. It remained available after that case. Jose Luis Magana/AP hide caption
President Trump is returning to the U.S. after a two-day state visit to China. The president said that China would buy soybeans and Boeing aircraft, but nothing has been seen in writing yet. As Trump celebrated the announcement of the deal, he didn't sound completely solid, NPR's Tamara Keith tells Up First. China has made purchase promises before only for them to fall short. A year ago, a destructive trade war raged between the two countries. Last fall, Trump and China's President Xi Jinping reached a truce. Keith says the bigger picture now is that this visit further strengthens that agreement. Trump also said he and Xi discussed the Middle East, and agreed that the Strait of Hormuz should remain open and Iran should never have a nuclear weapon. Keith says it doesn't appear that the U.S. secured any commitments from China to help pressure Iran to reopen the Strait or agree to turn over its nuclear material.
After a week of political turmoil and cabinet resignations in the U.K., several people have expressed interest in challenging Prime Minister Keir Starmer for his position. Starmer and his Labour Party suffered significant losses in local and regional elections last week, highlighting the increasing unpopularity of Starmer's leadership. His tenure has been troubled by a struggling economy, backlash over his appointment of an ambassador connected to Jeffrey Epstein and a rise in antisemitism, which the government has declared a "national emergency."
Special education teachers in the Salmon River Central School District of New York confined students with disabilities in wooden boxes, state officials say. Akwesasne Mohawk children, who make up about two-thirds of the district's enrolled students, were among some of the students who were confined. Local officials confirmed that staff had built and used at least two boxes in November and December of last year. The state's investigation revealed that at least five elementary-age students were placed in a "timeout" box, according to a report obtained by NPR. The investigation also found that the parents of these children were not notified, which is a violation of state regulations. Parents described this practice as reminiscent of past abuses in government schools that ravaged Native communities. New York's state education department has since quietly ordered sweeping reforms in the district.
Chef Jenifer Halin, culinary coordinator, cleans up the salad bar in the cafeteria at Great Valley High School in Malvern, Pennsylvania on February 2, 2026. (Rachel Wisniewski for NPR) Rachel Wisniewski for NPR hide caption
What's Eating America is a special series exploring the intersection of food and the economy.
School districts in the U.S. are concerned that it could get even more expensive to prepare meals under new federal dietary guidelines. In January, the Trump administration overhauled the national dietary guidelines. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has urged Americans to choose high-quality, nutrient-dense protein and to avoid highly processed foods. These guidelines set federal nutrition standards that schools in federal meal programs must follow. Many districts still depend on processed, premade foods and protein remains the most costly ingredient on the cafeteria plate, school nutrition experts say. The administration has also cut programs that help schools buy food from local farmers.
Saving money on food can be challenging. NPR's latest newsletter journey will help you choose, plan and cook three affordable meals over four weeks. The guide will also give you tips on dining out. Sign up for the How to Cut Your Food Bill here.
Isabel Leonard as Frida and Carlos Álvarez as Diego perform in a scene from Gabriela Lena Frank's El Último Sueño de Frida y Diego at New York's Metropolitan Opera. Marty Sohl/Met Opera hide caption
Check out what NPR is watching, reading and listening to this weekend:
🍿 Movies: Martin Short's long career in comedy is celebrated in the new documentary Marty, Life Is Short. The film reveals how frequently he has endured the loss of family members.
📺 TV: Amadeus focuses on 18th-century composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, a genius who uses music to express what he cannot articulate. The limited series tells a fictionalized story of the rivalry between Mozart and the court composer Antonio Salieri.
📚 Books: Eve J. Chung's The Young Will Remember tells the story of Ellie Chang, a Chinese American war correspondent. Stranded in an unfamiliar area that she's known as enemy territory, Chang must rely on strangers to find her way back home.
🎵 Music: Tomorrow, the 25 countries that made it through to Eurovision's Grand Final will get to perform their songs. Peacock and YouTube will stream the event in the U.S. Check out the top 10 best songs in the competition, according to NPR's Glen Weldon.
🎭 Theater: The opera El Último Sueño de Frida y Diego sees late Mexican painter Frida Kahlo leaving the underworld on the Day of the Dead to reunite with her husband and fellow artist, Diego Rivera. Audiences can see it at the Metropolitan Opera in New York through June 5, or check it out live in theaters on May 30.
❓Quiz: This week's test includes a fun addition: a fill-in-the-blank-option. Need a hint? The answer to that question is related to a discovery about Neanderthals included in yesterday's newsletter.
Eileen Wang, pictured in 2023, stepped down from her role as mayor of the City of Arcadia on Monday, hours after the Department of Justice unsealed a plea agreement in which the 58-year-old said she was guilty of acting as an illegal foreign agent on behalf of China's authoritarian government. Frazer Harrison/Getty Images hide caption
This newsletter was edited by Suzanne Nuyen.
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